Packers paying out bonuses to get guys to workouts

Talking players into spending their offseasons in scenic Green Bay isn’t the easiest thing to do.

So the Packers are paying their guys to do it.

According to Weston Hodkiewicz of the Green Bay Press-Gazette, the Packers paid out more in veteran workout bonuses than any team last year, and appear to be doing so again this year, with more than 20 veterans having substantial bonuses for showing up for offseason conditioning.

That’s a great way to get guys to volunteer for the voluntary work, especially in a place where I think polar bears are still roaming the streets in late April.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, outside linebacker Matthews and cornerback Sam Shields will each make $500,000 for offseason participation, while 13 other players will get six-figure bonuses for showing up.

Paying off key leaders to be there has a double benefit, because it will increase the peer pressure on other players to show up, even if they’re not cashing in.

Sorry, if you have to pay your “leaders” extra bonuses on top to show up at work…that’s anything but being a leader. Right now is the time to get that little extra edge. If you’re about winning and getting a ring you show up there no matter what and prepare for the new season instead of sitting at home to relax while the rest is working out. This type of attitude is the difference between all time greats and maybe just good teams/players.

There is nothing “extra” about it. All teams pay workout bonuses. But the Packers include all workout bonuses as an integral component of the players’ contract, not in addition to. Good thinking, I would say. Not all teams do it in this manner…..but good ones should.

So I guess what some of you are saying is if your place of work was striving to be the best in its field then all of you would not need an extra benifit to show up early for a few months? I’m sure some if not most of these players view their sport as just a job.

I think some of you are missing the point here. Most teams pay out bonuses for players to stay in the area to train. Most players do not own homes where they are playing- they just rent during the season. In the modern NFL many players leave and go to their home states or go to other places to train with other “elite”players. Larry Fitzgerald, for years, held one of the best off season training programs in Arizona, he would have around 30 non-Cardinals attending each season. Jerry Rice did the same thing before him.

Former Packers VP Andrew Brandt talked about this on Twitter. He said the Packers had poor attendance at offseason workouts due to players not wanting to spend the offseason in Green Bay, so they put in the workout bonuses to get more players to stay in Green Bay and attend workouts during the offseason.

I don’t know why it would be hard to get players to spend the off-season in Green Bay. They could go late-season ice fishing, moose hunting, or tour the sausage and cheese making plants. They could also tour the breweries or tour the kitchen at the Olive Garden. There’s more to do in Green Bay in the early spring than in Buffalo.

The concept of “I am a better human being than you because I cheer for the Packers and you don’t” actually exists in Green Bay. That is not too surprising as what else is there in Green Bay? I’m sure that is part of this issue here.

Us Packer rubes will all go to the grave with the singular accomplishment of watching some team we don’t even work for win a couple Super Bowls. Oh, and having the best Applebees in the entire state of Wisconsin!

For about a quarter century after Lombardi’s departure, the Packers had relatively little on-field success. In the 24 seasons from 1968 to 1991, the Packers had only five seasons with a winning record (above .500), one being the shortened 1982 strike season. They appeared in the playoffs twice during that period, with a record of 1–2. The period saw five different head coaches – Phil Bengtson, Dan Devine, Bart Starr, Forrest Gregg, and Lindy Infante – two of which were former Packer players in Lombardi’s era (Starr and Gregg), and one of which was a former coach (Bengtson). Each of these men led the Packers to a poorer record than his predecessor. Poor personnel decisions typified this time period. A notorious example includes the 1974 trade in which Dan Devine acting as GM sent five 1975 and 1976 draft picks (two first-rounders, two second-rounders and a third) to the Los Angeles Rams for aging quarterback John Hadl, who would spend only 1½ seasons in Green Bay.[13] Another came in 1989, when players such as Barry Sanders, Deion Sanders, and Derrick Thomas were available, but the Packers chose offensive lineman Tony Mandarich with the second overall pick in the NFL draft. Though rated highly by nearly every professional scout at the time, Mandarich’s performance failed to meet expectations. ESPN has rated Mandarich as the third “biggest sports flop” in the last 25 years.

You guys seem too forget these times, my point is every team has its ups and downs, so jealousy NOT. To bad we dint had this site to comment on The Packers between 1968 and 1991…..

You may yell that the players have zero work ethic, but again we can thank the union for this. It was they who put these demands for the players, just more pampering for people who are paid millions a year for playing a game.
But with this being stated, we do not have the idiots I have seen in other cities, you as a rule will not have fights break out for wearing another teams jacket, although you might be teased about it.
Being that we are a small town, we have a unique organization that no other city has.
You may yell about the worthless stocks, but as a owner of one, I did not purchase it for any face value, there is none. I purchased it to keep this team in town, I wanted to see them continue to do what few other teams have done. Look at the Packers since the Superbowl era, since that time there are 10 teams that have never won the superbowl, the packers have won 4 times, and have been in 5. Seattle may have won, but they are only batting 50% at this point, and until they win another 4, they are just another Tampa Bay, New Orleans, Rams Kansas City, Chiefs, Chicago, and Jets. Seems that even if you get there once, it is hard to get back. Look at the teams who won only two, Denver, Dolphins, Colts, Ravens. You have only had 3 teams win 3 times, the Pack and the Giants have won 4 times, 49rs and Cowboys 5 times, and the Steeler’s six times.
While teams can go out and build a quick winning team, they seem to destroy their future doing so. That is why you have the Packers, Steeler’s (even if they have been down two years in a row), the 49rs, and the Patriots have put good teams in year after year. All the teams had times of drought, and you could argue that the Steeler’s won their first 4 due to draft trades and a great draft, but that just goes to show what a good front office can do. Although Seattle has only won one, and the same with the Saints it can be argued that they have kept very competitive over the last ten years, this is due to the front office. But look at all their wins and losses, and guess who has the best record going over the last 20 years?
The 49rs won their division 6 times, and made the playoffs 10 times, the Steelers won their division 9 times with 12 playoff appearances. The Patriots have won their division 13 times with 15 playoffs, and the Packers have won their division 10 times and made the playoffs 15 times.
These are the top teams in the last 2o years and the Packers who you love to make fun of are playing while most of your teams are staying home and packing it in for the season. Your front office wants to learn how to win, look at the Pack, Steelers, 49rs and the Patriots, they have done something many teams only dream of doing, year after year in the playoffs, multiple division championship games, and appearances in the Superbowl, many times winning it. They have played in 13 of the last 20 superbowls. So hate as much as you want. While you are home complaining about your team I may be freezing my butt off, but at least I am watching my team play.

They say “the Packers pay the most for off-season work out bonuses,” like it was a bad thing. All good players on all teams have no problem with the workouts, because they would do them anyway. All good players think that way, or they wouldn’t be good for long. This is but another reason a good player would prefer to play for the Packers; they pay well.

as much as i hate ’em, thats actually smart contract structuring so their salaries don’t cost more against the cap. but, with how many injuries they have paying for players practicing shouldn’t be a problem